Molding apparatus



Nov. 28, 1944. PUGH, R 2,363,900

MOLDING APPARATUS Filed April 15 1941 INVENTOR Alexander L. Pay/z, J r.

ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 28 1944 MOLDING APPARATUS Alexander L. Pugh, Jr., Bala-Cynwyd, Par, as-

. signor to International ResistanceCompany, Philadelphia, Pa e. corporation of Delaware 6 Application April 15, 1941, serial No. 388,581

:Claims (01. 18--42) This invention relates to molding apparatus,

"and-more particularly to apparatusfor molding an article adapted to havea frangible insert embedded therein. 1

One of the objects of this invention is to provide molding apparatus which issimple, inexpensive and sturdy in construction, and which is efficient in operation. Another object is to provide molding apparatuscapable of filling high production requisites over an extended period of operation without breakage or substantial deterioration. Another object is to provide molding apparatus capable of molding articles having fragile inserts embedded therein; without damage or displacement to the' inserts. Another object isl-to provide molding apparatus capable of probends or breaks the inserts; or moves them out of position.

When a thermosetting material such as a phenol condensation compound is molded, it goes through several chemical reactions or polymerizing stages when subjected to heat and pressure.

If in its liquid state, the properties of such material were such that the forces developed dur- 'ducing molded articles characterized by uniformity in density and dimension. Other objects I will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter. The invention accordingly consists inthe features "of construction, combination of elements and arrangements of parts as will be exemplified in the structure to be hereinafter describedpand. the scope of the application of which willbe indi- .cated in the following claims. i In the drawing, wherein there is shown two embodiments of my invention, i I

Figure 1 is a perspective view of my. molding apparatus, a portion thereof being broken away; Figure 1A is an enlarged front elevation of my lower half or mold Mold plunger I lincludes a top plate I; from Plunger M has.

molding apparatus showing the halves. thereof separated;

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional elevationdofa portion of my mold showing the halves thereof f partially closed;

" Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 but show- :ing the mold halves closed. i r Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the various' views. of the drawing.

app aratus.

ving molding were purely hydrostatic, the pressure at any'point in the mold would be uniform as to magnitude and direction and hence such forces acting on an insert would be balanced so that no breakage; damage or distortion of the insert would result. This is, of course, an ideal condition unattainable under high production requirements or without th use ofexpensive and complicated Conventional types 'of molding apparatus are incapable of efficient production of molded articles inwhich a fragile insert is embedded and it is to the end of solving the problems arising from the use of such molds that my mold, as will be now described, is directed. 1 i

Referring now to Figure 1A, my mold, which is generally indicated at Ill, comprises an upper half orlp-l'unger generally indicated at H, and a which a plunger I4 extends. formed in the bottom thereof a plurality of molding recesses I5 whichare equidistantly spaced by lands l6. Mold cavity l2 has a reservoir I! (Figure 1) formed therein and in the bottom of this reservoir are formed recesses l8 equidistantly spaced from one another by lands I9. Recesses I8 are complementary to recesses l5 and lie opposite thereto when the two parts of the mold are closed. Thus lands H) are opposite lands I6 To clarify certain aspects of the invention, it

should be noted that theLmo-ldingof articles'hav-' 1 ing fragile inserts suchas glass filaments, for, example, therein, gives rise to troublesome manu- ;facturing problems. In the first place, the molding material acts like a highly viscous liquid, the value of viscosity frequently varying considerably because-of such factors as temperature, pressure, time and previous treatment of the material. Because of this variation, the high stresses developed on the inserts during th molding operation cannot be predicated or controlled in most conventional molds, and hence theflow of the -molding material which creates the stressesoften when the mold partsare closed.

Lands I 6 and I9 are usually wider than the diameters of recesses l5 and I8, and are preferably proportioned to hold the proper amount of granular molding material under predetermined conditions as will appear hereinbelow. It should also be noted, however, that the substantial width of the lands lends great rigidity tothe effective part of the mold, thus assuringits long life in operation.

From the abov'ejit may be seen that my mold is of Ithe'sub-cavity type but has unusually wide lands between the mold cavities which are: so proportioned as to greatly resist breaking or displacing of the inserts. Ihave also found that the volume of a charge of molding material that cavity generally indicated at 2 and regrouping,

* is placed upon the lands should be between approximately 65% and 85-%,preferably 75% of the volume change during molding. The result of this is that the distance from the center of one mold cavity to the center of the next adjacent mold cavity (see Figure 1A) or the width of the'plunger including its lands for a single cavity mold may be derived from the following equation:

. i: c=d--; (1K)(B 1)+2 where, with reference to Figure 1A v c=center to center distance between adjacent recesses or the width of the plunger for .a, single recess mold d=diameter of or distance across ing cavity or recess B=bulk factor of molding material K=constant whose value is between, approximateiy 65% and 85%, but preferably 75% If K-' this equation can be further simplified to 1 These fromulae may bederived as follows where the width of the molded piece is 01, its cross sectional area is A, its length is L, and the depth 0 molding material on the lands is t:

- (1) Volume of thefinished piece=AL .(2) Total volume of molding material .loaded per cavity:

.(3) Change in volume of molding material on molding lpercavity=(Bl)AL v (4) Volume of molding material loaded on lands per 'cavity=t(c.d) L

(5) Ratio of:

molding material on lands change in volume of molding material t.(c d)L (B 1)AL[ (6) Rewrite (2) cancelling L and solving for t,

a single moldof the factors that influence the movement of molding material as the mold parts are brought together are present in the formula. Bulk ratio, which, as noted above, is the ratio of the volume of the original molding material to the volume of the molded piece, is included. Volume of molding material which is a linear function of cross sectional area in the cylinderis also inserts 2| are centrally placed in the several recesses I8 in the plane of the surfaces of lands I9 Thereafter the molding material 20, which is preferably in granular or powdered form, is placed within reservoir I! to a depth whereit fills recesses l8 and coversv lands l9 and [9a sufficiently to yield a satisfactory product. The mold plunger l4 and reservoir [1- are thenheated to a suitable temperature, and when they/are forced together at the desired pressure, the mold ing material 20 lying on the lands l9 (Figure 3) is transformedby heat and pressure into a fluid at a varying viscosity which enters recesses I5 and 1,8 (Figure 3) from either side thereof and hence at right angles to the direction of motion of the mold plunger (as indicated byreference letters d and h). serts 2| are substantially equalized. The molding material 20 after entering recesses l5 and I8 flows upwardly into recess l5, downwardly .in'to recess I8 directly toward insert 2| from opposite directions "and accordingly around the insert, as

indicated by the arrows and reference letters 0 and g. Thus, the forces impressed on the insert are so balanced that the .insert is neither displaced nor broken. It :may accordingly be seen that with the balance in flow and pressure, substantial molding pressure may be utilized without injuring the insert. Hence through the 'use of my mold. the forces resulting from molding pressure are uniformly distributed and balanced about the inserts 2|.

Although the volume of the insert has not been taken into consideration in the analysis, I

find that in practice this method of design gives the proper proportionsfor molding around inserts of a variety of sizes.

Thus I have provided a mold which can ef fectively mold. articles havingfragile inserts therein, without displacing or fracturing the inserts, and which effectively attain the various other objects hereinabove set forth.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the above invention, and as many changes might be madein the embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood'that all matter hereinbefore set forth or shown in the accompanying drawing is to be interpreted as illustrative-and not in a limit we sense. 1

I claim: U I 1'. In a two-piece sub-cavity mold designed'for molding a plastic material having a bulk factor greater than 1 around a fragile element, thecom- Thus the forces acting'o'n inbination of two opposing pieces having similar opposing, molding cavities and lands so constructed that the center to center distance between adjacent recesses equals approximately" three times the diameter of one recess.-

2.. In a two-piece sub-cavity mold designed for molding a plastic material having a bulk factor greater than 1 around a fragile element, the com bination of twoopposing pieces having similar opposing molding recesses and lands so constructed that the ratio of the center to center distance between adjacent recesses to the diameter of one recess is equal to a value falling between the range of 2 to 3. v i j 3. In a two-piece sub-cavity mold designed for molding a plastic material having a bulk factor greater than 1 around a fragile element, the com,

bination of two opposing pieces having similar opposing molding recessesand lands so constructed that the ratio of the center to center distance bea tween adjacent recessesto the diameter of one recess is on the order of two to three where the value of the ratio of the volume of said unmolded plastic material before molding to the Volume of the molded article is greaterthan unity but no greater than five. j

4. Ina two-piece sub-cavitymold designed for molding a plastic material having a bulk factor greater than 1 arounda fragile element, the combination of two opposing pieces having similar opposed molding recesses and lands, the width of v the land serving its adjacent recess bein derived from the formula where 0 equals the width of the lands serving the recess plus the diameter of the recess, d equals the diameter of or the distance across the -recess, and B equals the bulk factor of the material to be molded.

" ALEXANDER L. PUGH, JR. 

